Bonus: A Muslim, a Dad, an American

What Next | Daily News and Analysis

Slate

News, Daily News, News Commentary, Politics

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 18 July 2025

⏱️ 4 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this political moment where hostility towards immigrants and outsiders is openly espoused, one of our own colleagues has released a book about growing up as a Muslim-American in the post-9/11 era—and raising his own kids now. Guest: Aymann Ismail, Slate staff writer and author of “Becoming Baba: Fatherhood, Faith, and Finding Meaning in America.” This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey Slatsters, it's Mary. You hear that music and you know that it's Friday and this week
0:06.1	we've got something extra special. We always have something special on Friday because it is Slate Plus
0:10.8	day. But this week, more special, specialer because Aiman Ismail is here. He is one of Slate's
0:17.9	fantastic reporters and like a favorite guest of this show.
0:22.4	He also, yes, number one favorite, Amen.
0:26.1	Like, really?
0:26.4	Yes. I think the words I've used with my producers is we never regret having
0:31.0	A-Man on. Like if it's an option, just like, Amen and-
0:34.5	Aw. Anyway. Aiming it up.
0:36.6	Aiming it up. A-Man also has a book out right now that we need to like tell you all about. So Amon's here. We're going to talk about the book. We're going to talk about all kinds of things. But we'll start with a book, which is called Becoming Baba, Fatherhood, Faith, and Finding Meaning in America. Hi, Amen. What's up, Mary? You ready to aiming it up? I'm ready. I was born ready. Okay, I'm going to be honest. We're also going to diverge a little bit and talk about some of your reporting in New York City. You've been like following Zoran Mondani since like before, before everyone knew his name. Since he was a baby. No, I about that. Since he was a wee baby politician. I'm kidding. We usually give ourselves like 15 minutes on the clock. Often we violate that, but we just like to have goals. Goals are good. Hit me. Goals are good. Even if you don't meet them. Goals are good. Even if you're asymptotically going towards them, they're good. At the least, we can have a goal to have a goal.
1:29.6	Have a goal.
1:30.2	Goals are good.
1:31.1	Okay.
1:31.7	So I'm going to start here.
1:33.6	Your book, Becoming Baba.
1:35.1	Everyone go by it immediately.
1:38.5	It's coming out at this really interesting time because I was reading it.
1:43.7	I'm not done with it yet, but I was reading it.
1:46.3	It's just such like a deeply American story to me. But it's also this like Americanism that's
1:53.1	under threat right now. And I was just thinking about that. Like to me, the America at its best
1:59.7	being an American is about being loyal to multiple identities,
2:05.4	like holding multiple truths, holding these things all together and finding a way to make it
	...

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